Broncos: 2012 prediction

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Looking back All football this week: Colorado head coach Jon Embree should've changed quarterbacks in the second half, but that can't take away from the legitimacy of Colorado State's upset victory last weekend.

Revision needed Nobody minds the new NCAA rule requiring players whose helmet is knocked off to sit out a play, but as often as it happens, why not make it apply only to runners, receivers and tacklers?

It's on Yes, the Pac-12 Network can be seen locally via Comcast, on channels 550 (digital) and 840 (high-def), carrying CU vs. Sacramento State at 1 p.m. Saturday.

First, let's agree on one point: It's easy to argue that the Denver Broncos never have entered into a new season with their fans feeling more excited anticipation than now.

In that category, from this historian's perspective dating to the 1970s, the only comparable years would be 1978, the year after Denver's unexpected first Super Bowl; 1983, the year John Elway came to town; 1987, the season after Elway engineered The Drive and reached his initial Super Bowl; 1995, the year Mike Shanahan returned to Denver as head coach; and 1999, leading into Elway's title encore.

The reason now, of course, is the guy wearing No. 18. From the moment Peyton Manning decided to become a Bronco, all of Orange Nation has been drooling.

So what if Denver faces a killer early schedule against many of the league's top quarterbacks? So what if Manning didn't play a down last year and still could be vulnerable to a neck-rattling hit? So what if the Broncos still have two major concerns on defense, their linebackers and overall lack of depth?

Despite all that, nothing has stopped Broncomania from rising to historic levels. Nobody is talking about a 16-0 regular season. (That would suggest checking into a psychiatric ward.) But it's hard to find any loyal Denver fan who expects worse than 12-4 or 11-5, followed by a run deep into the playoffs.

Despite those worries, the more I look at Denver's schedule, I'm convinced it's not so ominous. Also, having head coach John Fox and coordinator Jack Del Rio, two of the NFL's foremost defensive minds, has to count for something.